A  NEW  WAY 
TO  SOLVE 
OLD  PROBLEM 

FRANK  E.  DUDDY 


BV  1520  .D8   ^— "°^^^*^^^^- 
Duddy,  Frank  E. 
A  new  way  to  solve  old 
problems 


A  NEW  WAY  TO 
SOLVE  OLD  PROBLEMS 


A  NEW  WAY  TO 
SOLVE  OLD  PROBLEMS 


BY 

FRANK  E.  bUDDY 

ASSISTANT    PASTOR    AND    DIRECTOB    OP   RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION 
IN   FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,   TOLEDO,   OHIO 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1921 


Copyright,  1921,  bt 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


THE   8CRIBNER    PRESS 


TO   THE   TEACHERS   AND   OFFICERS   OF 

FIRST  CHURCH  SCHOOL 

IN  SINCERE  APPRECIATION  OF  THEIR  UNFAILING 
LOTAI/TT   AND  CO-OPERATION 


FOREWORD 

The  need  of  true  religious  education  of  the 
youth  of  our  day  is  so  urgent  that  more  thought 
and  less  tradition  must  be  set  to  the  task.  Re- 
ligious truth  can  enter  the  minds  of  boys  and  girls, 
but  it  must  enter  by  true  psychological  doors. 
Fine  Christian  character  can  take  deeper  hold 
upon  the  lives  of  young  folks  if  the  expressions  of 
that  character  can  reach  them  by  the  smooth 
roads  of  high-grade  teaching.  If  we  expect  to 
educate  our  youth  we  must  plan  for  the  careful 
use  of  more  time  to  do  it.  Study  courses  that 
truly  meet  the  needs  of  young  minds  are  expres- 
sions of  good  judgment  in  religion  as  in  any  other 
area  of  life. 

The  story  of  methods  and  the  outline  of  study 
contained  in  this  little  book,  represent  the  sin- 
cere and  fearless  attempt  upon  the  part  of  a 
church  to  meet  more  completely  and  more  ef- 
ficiently the  needs  of  religious  education.  Great 
credit  is  due  to  Professor  Clayton  C.  Kohl  for 
the  searching  and  thought-provoking  way  in 
which  he  placed  before  the  teachers  and  officers 
of  the  First  Church  Bible  School  the  religious- 
education  conditions  of  our  day.  In  all  the 
months    of    discussion    and    planning    Professor 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

Kohl  had  the  confidence  and  support  of  the  pastor 
of  the  church  and  the  religious-work  director. 
The  splendid  results  could  not  have  come  to 
pass  without  the  tactful,  intelligent,  painstaking, 
and  enthusiastic  leadership  of  Reverend  Frank 
E.  Duddy,  the  religious- work  director.  Still 
more  gratifying,  if  possible,  was  the  way  officers, 
teachers,  and  parents  saw  the  new  approaches 
and  co-operated  with  loyalty,  intelligence,  and 
enthusiasm  in  bringing  the  new  and  enriched 
school  into  actual  life  and  service. 

The  results  are:  enthusiasm  upon  the  part  of 
the  scholars,  joy  and  confidence  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  the  parents,  a  new  and  wonderful  spirit 
and  expectation  throughout  the  whole  church, 
and  a  prophecy  of  intelligent  and  loyal  Christians 
for  the  future. 

Allen  A.  Stockdale, 

Pastor,  First  Congregational  Church, 

Toledo,  Ohio, 


PREFACE 

Since  the  war  there  has  been  an  insistent  de- 
mand for  more  religion.  Among  the  first  to 
point  out  the  vital  need  was  one  of  the  country's 
foremost  statisticians.  His  plea  for  more  re- 
ligion in  business  was  followed  by  many  state- 
ments of  others  interested  in  business  methods 
to  the  effect  that  unless  more  religion  was  forth- 
coming the  business  of  the  country  was  in  a  fair 
way  to  go  on  the  rocks  of  moral  bankruptcy. 
Labor  began  to  call  for  the  application  of  Chris- 
tian principles  to  the  status  of  the  workman. 
Educators,  headed  by  several  of  the  presidents 
of  the  larger  universities,  took  up  the  cry  and 
told  their  students  that  the  world  needed  more 
than  ever  a  profession  and  living  of  vital  religion. 
Social-service  workers  sounded  anew  their  note  of 
the  responsibility  of  a  man  to  his  neighbor. 

This  demand  has  not  been  lost  upon  the  church. 
She  is  endeavoring  in  every  way  at  her  command 
to  give  to  the  world  more  religion.  Some  of  these 
ways,  however,  lack  decidedly  in  an  ability  to 
function  efficiently;  they  do  not  produce  the  re- 
sults desired.  Upon  no  department  of  church 
activity  does  this  criticism  fall  more  justly  than 
upon  the  department  which  teaches  its  children 

ix 


X  PREFACE 

to  worship.  Religion  will  never  mean  a  great  deal 
to  a  child  unless  he  grows  up  in  its  spirit,  and  that 
spirit  cannot  be  impressed  upon  him  unless  true 
worship  is  taught.  Worship  by  the  cultivation  of 
attitudes  of  thoughtfulness,  reverence,  and  prayer 
fosters  the  growth  of  religion,  and  no  religion 
worthy  of  the  name  can  be  fostered  in  any  other 
way. 

The  time  has  come  when  the  church  must  look 
into  the  work  of  her  schools  and  find  out  just  how 
much  they  are  or  are  not  doing  in  the  teaching  of 
worship;  whether  the  children  are  coming  to  have 
a  respect  and  love  for  the  church  and  its  teachings. 

Here  lies  the  foundation  for  contemporary  re- 
ligious education;  there  must  be  a  spirit  of  wor- 
ship if  religion  is  to  come  into  its  own.  Sun- 
day-schools have  not  failed  completely  of  their 
purpose,  but  they  have  come  a  long  way  from  re- 
alizing some  of  the  goals  which  are  within  their 
reach.  If  the  members  of  any  church  would  de- 
mand that  the  Sunday-school  develop  a  spirit  of 
worship  in  its  children  and  actively  co-operated 
with  the  minister  and  his  helpers  in  securing  that 
result,  there  would  be  a  different  kind  of  school 
in  the  church.  But  until  that  time  of  general  in- 
terest and  co-operation  comes — that  community 
of  interests  between  church  and  Sunday-school — 
the  spirit  of  worship  will  not  be  implanted  in  the 
heart  of  the  child  and  the  world  will  not  receive 
from  the  church  the  religion  it  needs. 


CONTENIB 


PAOB 

Foreword vii 

Preface ix 

I.    Psychological  Grounds  for  a  Change        1 

DOES  OUR  PRESENT  CHURCH  SCHOOL  NEED 
REMODELLING  ?    IF  SO,  WHY  ? 

II.    History  of  the  Movement 12 

HOW  FIRST  CHURCH  WENT  ABOUT  SOLV- 
ING THE  OLD   PROBLEMS 

III.  Administration 18 

THE   CHURCH   BEHIND   THE   SCHOOL 

IV.  Organization 21 

THE  MACHINERY  OF  THE  NEW  PLAN 

V.    The  School  at  Work 28 

A   GLIMPSE  of  a  SUNDAY  PROGRAM 

VI.    Equipment 36 

WHAT  MATERIAL  IS  USED  AND  HOW  THE 
EQXnPMENT  A  SCHOOL  POSSESSES  CAN 
BE  UTILIZED 

VII.    The  Measuring  of  Results 40 

ANSWERS  the  QUESTION,  "  WHAT  HAS  THE 

school  accomplished  in  its  brief 
period  of  existence?" 

Appendix 47 

list   of   books   and    lessons   found 

USEFUL 


A  NEW  WAY  TO  SOLVE  OLD  PROBLEMS 
CHAPTER  I 

PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS   FOR  A   CHANGE 

Any  one  desiring  to  effect  radical  changes  in 
an  institution  of  long  standing  and  of  great  social 
worth  faces  a  tremendous  responsibility.  Worn- 
out  institutions  are  likely  to  be  rendering  greater 
service  than  progressive  thinkers  are  willing  to 
assign  to  them.  The  Sunday-school  has  a  credit- 
able history,  and  it  is  still  doing  valuable  work. 
No  one  should  attack  it  without  being  fairly  sure 
of  his  ground.  Indirectly  it  has  been  attacked  in 
a  thousand  ways  by  the  very  men  and  women  who 
are  keeping  it  alive.  Those  who  write  its  lesson 
courses  and  helps  also  write  the  religious  psychol- 
ogy and  pedagogy  that  are  dooming  it  to  destruc- 
tion. Religious  education  has  a  fine  body  of 
literature,  but  the  Sunday-school  has  not  had 
leaders  who  have  been  willing  to  risk  the  funda- 
mental changes  necessary  for  the  adaptation  of 
this  literature  to  real  school  practice.  Say  what 
one  will,  the  traditional  Sunday-school  is  an  ef- 
fete institution;  and  some  one  who  realizes  the 
responsibility  and  counts  all  the  risks  must  ven- 
ture to  launch  a  change. 


2    PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE 

Those  who  attempt  to  put  psychology  and 
pedagogy  into  actual  school  practice  face  an  ap- 
palling task.  It  demands  hours  and  hours  of 
prayer,  weeks  and  weeks  of  study,  and  years  and 
years  of  experimentation.  When  this  psychology 
and  pedagogy  are  religious,  the  task  is  more  than 
appalling,  it  is  overwhelming.  An  aim  in  theory 
is  one  thing,  to  translate  it  into  terms  of  child 
consciousness  is  quite  another;  content  on  paper 
is  a  wholly  different  matter  from  content  in  the 
form  of  ideas  and  feelings;  the  method  stated  in 
the  form  of  principles  is  a  total  stranger  to  the 
same  rules  or  laws  as  expressed  in  the  form  of 
spiritual  reactions.  Any  thoughtful  person  who 
has  read  a  hundred  of  the  best  books  on  religious 
education  may  have  an  illuminating  and  shocking 
experience  by  visiting  or  teaching  week  after 
week  in  any  average  Sunday-school  with  his 
critical  attention  and  judgment  at  their  best. 
This  is  the  precise  experience  that  a  rational  re- 
former of  the  Sunday-school  must  have,  at  least 
in  the  beginning  of  his  endeavors.  This  chapter 
attempts  to  sketch  such  an  experience. 

According  to  modern  thought,  the  aim  of  re- 
ligious education  is  to  inculcate  reverence  for 
God,  brotherhood  of  mankind,  and  all  those 
great  moral  virtues  which  the  common  conscious- 
ness of  the  best  of  the  race  has  found  essential  to 
refined  personal  character  and  efficient  social 
service.     Put  into  more  concrete  terms,  the  aim 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE    3 

is  to  instil  progressively  into  the  individual's 
mind  and  soul  a  love  for  Christ,  an  appreciative 
I  understanding  of  his  philosophy  of  life,  and  an 
ever-abiding  body  of  habits  that  will  carry  these 
out  into  conduct.  So  exalted  and  so  comprehen- 
sive is  the  aim  that  no  satisfactory  expression  of 
it  in  words  is  possible.  Its  ramifications  are  end- 
less and  bewildering.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  in- 
evitable; and  it  is  toward  this  great  goal  that  the 
Sunday-school  must  work. 

To  translate  this  aim  into  terms  of  human  con- 
sciousness, even  child  consciousness,  is  the  prac- 
tical   problem   of   the   Sunday-school   reformer. 
Thomas  a  Kempis,  Rauschenbusch,  Peabody,  and 
Fosdick   might   offer  great  help,  and  yet  they 
do  not  quite  reach  the  teacher's  special  difficulty. 
He  must  get  them  into  terms  of  mental  processes 
in  order  that  he  can  build.    In  attempting  this,  he 
discerns  at  once  that  the  root  of  the  religious  aim 
is  feeling-— the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world  to 
educate,  and  the  one  aspect  of  mind  about  which 
least  is  known.     The  great  goals   of  religious 
training  are  ideals,  sentiments,  attitudes,  faith. 
The  next  thing  he  will  notice  is  that  knowledge 
supports   these   feelings,    but   not   any   kind   of 
knowledge.     The  ideas  that  furnish  the  nourish- 
ment for  these  ideals  is  a  particular  kind  of  knowl- 
edge.    Names  of  the  books  of  the  Bible,  geog- 
raphy of  the  Holy  Land,  conceptual  golden  texts, 
may  or  may  not  be  the  kind  of  informational  ma- 


4    PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A   CHANGE 

terial  needed.  A  third  psychological  radiation  of 
the  aim  is  easily  seen;  namely,  feelings  live  and 
have  their  being  in  habits  of  action  as  well  as  in 
ideas.  The  great  moral  virtues  indissolubly 
linked  with  religion  are  in  great  part  habit. 
Faith  and  creed  cannot  keep  them  alive  if  they 
are  denied  exercise.  The  aim,  therefore,  becomes 
something  quite  dynamic  if  it  is  ever  to  be  gotten 
off  the  paper  and  into  human  minds. 

Still  another  phase  of  the  problem  of  aim  pre- 
sents itself:  Is  such  an  exalted  and  difficult  goal 
possible  with  children  and  youth?  Religious 
psychologists  say  that  it  is.  Hall,  Coe,  Dawson, 
and  many  others  point  out  that  the  child  and  the 
youth  are  peculiarly  responsive  to  certain  of  the 
greatest  religious  feelings.  A  thoughtful  ob- 
server cannot  help  but  feel  that  they  are  right. 
Practical  teachers  know  that  children  and  youth 
grasp  many  great  ideas,  at  least  in  part;  and  they 
know  that  the  young  nervous  system  is  quick  to 
form  habits.  Child  psychology,  therefore,  offers 
hope  and  cheer  as  one  contemplates  the  great  pur- 
pose of  religious  training. 

In  the  work  of  the  Sunday-school  lies  a  beauti- 
ful vision,  if  an  artist  instead  of  a  clumsy  hand 
could  paint  it.  Now,  in  full  contemplation  of  this 
work,  turn  to  the  Sunday-school  as  it  is.  Is 
reverence  for  God  dawning  in  the  pupils'  minds? 
Is  brotherly  love  manifesting  itself  more  and 
more  as  the  child  progresses  through  the  school? 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A   CHANGE    5 

Are  the  great  moral  virtues  functioning  more 
certainly  as  the  days  go  on?  Does  the  school 
breathe  the  atmosphere  in  which  these  normally 
live?  Does  the  knowledge  taught  impinge  upon 
the  great  feelings  and  habits  that  ought  to  be  the 
ultimate  aim?  If  religion  is  basically  a  set  of 
ideals,  feelings,  and  attitudes  supported  by 
proper  knowledge  and  habits,  then  every  psy- 
chological law  governing  their  generation  and 
development  is  violated  in  the  traditional  Sunday- 
school.  A  discussion  of  this  forces  a  considera- 
tion of  the  environment  of  the  school,  the  course 
of  study,  methods,  and  the  teacher. 

The  average  Sunday-school  room  is  usually  a 
very  uninviting  place.  Bare  walls,  pillars  or  posts, 
irregularly  dispersed  chairs  and  tables,  gaudy 
prize  stars,  old  bookcases  no  longer  needed  in  the 
pastor's  study,  dirty  blackboards  with  statistics 
of  collections  and  attendance  upon  them,  torn 
song-books,  and  much  else  of  like  character  may 
be  seen.  No  great  feelings  can  endure  in  this. 
Moreover,  many  aspects  of  mob  psychology  are 
present  in  the  average  Sunday-school  room  when 
work  is  going  on.  Children  and  older  people  are 
rushing  about  to  find  their  places,  coming  in  at 
all  times  and  going  out  at  all  times.  Bells  are  ring- 
ing, secretaries  and  treasurers  are  running  about 
their  duties,  material  is  being  hunted,  special 
announcements  are  being  made,  parties  and 
special  programmes  are  being  planned,  and  classes 


6    PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE 

are  reciting — all  usually  in  one  or  at  least  a  few 
rooms.  The  whole  process  takes  all  told  an  hour. 
Can  reverence  in  this  dwell?  The  sombre  dig- 
nity of  the  great  church  with  its  organ  and  song 
is  reserved  for  the  adults;  the  basement  is  given 
to  the  Sunday-school.  The  stained-glass  win- 
dows and  the  soft  carpet  are  given  to  the  men  and 
women;  the  children  take  the  appurtenances. 
Sentiments  have  settings;  they  live  in  associations 
that  are  congenial  to  them.  Think  of  a  cosey 
public-school  room  with  its  flowers,  pictures,  quiet, 
and  its  intimate  group  spirit  and  then  come  back 
to  the  Sunday-school  room!  No  blindness,  ex- 
cept that  bred  by  tradition,  could  think  of  toler- 
ating such  conditions  as  these  to  furnish  an  en- 
vironment for  these  wonderful  emotions  that  the 
pulpit  strives  to  engender — in  adults. 

Another  principle  of  the  psychology  of  feeling 
is  that  it  is  contagious.  By  imitation  and  sug- 
gestion, radiating  from  personality,  one  catches 
sentiments  from  others.  In  day-schools  there 
are  many  virile  men  and  women  who  feel  their 
calling,  love  their  subjects,  become  enthusiastic  in 
their  presentations,  linger  in  their  rooms,  read 
and  talk  their  themes  at  every  occasion,  buy 
books  and  dream  dreams  and  have  visions.  Con- 
trast the  average  Sunday-school  teacher:  late  or 
absent;  chosen  because  he  or  she  is  the  sole  avail- 
able person;  untrained  in  any  art  of  teaching; 
visionless  or  dead  so  far  as  dynamic  religion  is 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE    7 

concerned;  with  no  sympathy  for  the  dawning 
mind.  From  the  athletic  teacher  the  boy  may 
catch  the  football  spirit;  from  the  butterfly  high- 
school  girl  the  little  girl  may  catch  the  taste  for  a 
ribbon;  from  the  pious  old  lady  the  youth  may 
catch  what  he  calls  the  "jimjams."  This  picture 
is  crudely  drawn,  but  with  no  unkindness.  It  is 
a  simple  fact.  The  athletic,  the  giddy,  and  the 
pious  are  not  necessarily  to  be  excluded  from  the 
Sunday-school  staff;  but  there  must  be  something 
added.  Reverence  for  God,  brotherliness,  and 
faith  in  virtue  must  be  there,  too,  if  they  are  ever 
to  pass  from  teacher  to  pupil. 

Another  great  law  of  the  psychology  of  feeling 
is  that  its  associated  ideas  and  images  are  se- 
lected with  a  peculiar  fitness  to  its  hue  and  tem- 
per. The  elements  of  every  great  feeling  situa- 
tion are  unique.  There  is  something  unitary 
about  the  situation.  It  is  shot  through  and 
through  with  apperceptive  ties.  In  the  day-school 
Washington,  Lincoln,  the  Revolution,  the  Civil 
War,  Rip  Van  Winkle,  The  Children's  Hour,  Snow^ 
Bound,  and  hosts  of  other  personalities  and  scenes 
are  studied  through  until  a  co-ordinated  impres- 
sion or  attitude  is  gotten.  In  the  Sunday-school 
no  great  characters  or  scenes  or  events  are  pur- 
sued long  enough  or  consistently  enough  to  leave 
any  unitary  impression.  So  strong  is  the  desire 
to  inculcate  a  moral  lesson,  that  texts  give  mere 
fragments  and  then  proceed  to  moralize  upon 


8    PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE 

them.  Even  the  life  of  Christ,  the  most  wonder- 
ful, simple,  and  penetrating  in  world  history,  is 
dealt  with  in  a  fragmentary  way.  By  the  side  of 
day-school  texts  Sunday-school  texts  are  an 
abomination.  Sketchy,  sentimentalized,  chopped 
up  by  notes,  illustrated  by  commonplaces,  sugared 
over  with  a  pale  cast  of  baby-like  talk,  they  be- 
come repulsive  to  healthy  boys  and  girls.  Leaf- 
lets are  there  in  legion  (teacher's  manual,  pupil's 
manual,  first  quarters,  second  quarters,  helps,  sug- 
gestions). Rarely  does  one  ever  have  personality 
enough  to  make  anybody  desire  to  keep  it.  Great 
sentiments  often  cling  about  books — the  Bible,  for 
example.  Lack  of  time  and  money  are  indeed 
great  handicaps;  but  if  love  of  country  is  worth 
magnificent  texts  of  United  States  history,  is  not 
love  for  God  and  Christ  and  the  prophets  worth 
equally  fine  texts  in  language  adapted  to  the 
young?  We  have  them  for  adults  outside  of  the 
Sunday-school.  After  one  reads  Dean  Hodges's 
fine  book  on  "Training  Children  in  Religion,"  he 
often  wonders  if  the  Sunday-school  is  not  injur- 
ing rather  than  helping  the  child  toward  a  re- 
ligious culture.  The  great  need  in  the  Sunday- 
school  course  of  study  is  that  of  having  the  Bible 
and  other  religious  material  organized  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  rational  aim.  The  course  is 
to-day  what  the  course  in  general  history  in  the 
day-school  was  thirty  years  ago — an  epitome  of 
facts.     It  is  impossible  to  culture  the  great  reli- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE      9 

gious  emotions  on  fragmentary  ideas  and  images. 
The  Bible  and  religious  material  exist  in  abun- 
dance; and  much  of  it  is  excellent,  some  of  it 
genuine  art.  Histories,  stories,  biographies,  pic- 
tures, and  dramas  exist  that  could  be  woven  into 
wonderful  programmes  of  study  for  the  church 
school.  Beginnings  have  been  made,  but  the  great 
body  of  the  work  lies  ahead. 

The  unique  character  of  the  religious  aim  forces 
the  reconstruction  of  many  principles  of  method 
as  developed  in  secular  pedagogy.  Teaching 
methods  are  in  large  part  directed  toward  the  in- 
tellectual aspects  of  the  classroom.  The  religious 
aim,  as  pointed  out  above,  is  dominantly  emo- 
tional. Thinking  in  science  may  have  little  ef- 
fective tone  and  yet  function  well;  thinking  in 
religion  must  function  in  faith  and  conduct.  The 
appreciation  element  must  run  high  in  the  Sun- 
day-school classroom.  All  teaching  is  an  art;  re- 
ligious teaching  is  a  supreme  art,  so  much  so  that 
some  writers  question  whether  religion  can  be 
taught.  Two  matters  mentioned  earlier  in  the 
chapter  are  fundamental  to  this  question  of 
method:  one  is  the  superior  teacher  and  the  other 
is  the  unitary  lesson.  When  it  comes  to  the  de- 
tail of  method,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  speak  in 
specific  terms.  A  few  general  principles,  how- 
ever, may  be  sketched.  Too  much  detail,  too 
much  analysis,  too  much  expanding  and  elabora- 
tion   are   injurious   to   appreciation.     A   teacher 


10      PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A   CHANGE 

cannot  do  the  appreciating  for  the  pupils;  they 
must  read  and  tell  stories  and  discuss  and  dram- 
atize. Contemplation  and  expression  are  psy- 
chological prerequisites  for  high  sentiment.  Teach- 
ers do  all  the  work  in  the  average  Sunday-school  to- 
day;  in  the  new  school  the  pupils  will  do  a  large 
part  of  it.  Another  principle  closely  related  to 
this  resides  in  the  relation  between  feeling  and  ac- 
tion. Ideals  and  motives  and  high  purposes  die 
when  they  do  not  function  in  real  conduct.  The 
scouting  movement  has  caught  this  principle  and 
is  making  some  telling  use  of  it.  Sunday-school 
instruction  vaporizes  to-day;  and  this  is  due  to 
weak  class  organization,  lack  of  co-operation  from 
the  community  life  about.  There  is  besides  a 
nai've  isolation  between  the  Sunday-school  and  the 
church  itself.  The  former  seems  in  almost  no 
way  to  prepare  or  train  for  the  latter.  The  ele- 
ment of  worship  central  in  the  services  of  the 
church  gets  scant  support  in  the  school.  Lack 
of  time  and  indifference  are  in  part  the  cause  of 
this  condition;  but  the  fundamental  reason  for  it 
lies  in  the  fact  that  teachers  and  officers  do  not 
understand  the  aim  of  religious  instruction  when 
put  into  terms  of  mind  and  therefore  have  no  cri- 
terion for  the  judging  of  methods. 

No  one  knows  enough  about  the  institutional 
teaching  of  religion  to  be  justified  in  cynical  dog- 
matism regarding  it.  Modern  religious  books 
make  a  powerful  appeal  even  to  laymen.     Such 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  GROUNDS  FOR  A  CHANGE      11 

wonderful  possibilities  seem  to  lie  in  store  for 
earnest  workers  that  they  cannot  stand  back 
longer  and  view  effort  going  to  waste.  They  are 
compelled  to  attempt  the  translation  of  these 
visions  into  working  and  workable  religious  in- 
struction. The  simplest  practical  psychology 
shows  that  the  Sunday-school  as  it  now  exists  is 
almost  ridiculous  in  some  of  its  practices.  The 
basic  grounds  for  change  do  not  reside  in  any 
materialistic  conception  of  the  problems.  To 
furnish  new  equipment,  new  rooms,  new  teachers, 
and  modern  business  methods  will  not,  in  them- 
selves, remedy  the  situation.  The  crucial  prob- 
lem lies  first  and  foremost  in  a  vital  understand- 
ing of  the  growth  of  the  religious  consciousness, 
and  following  this  an  adaptation  of  the  content 
and  method  to  the  ends  sought.  Religious  leaders 
are  attempting  the  one,  but  practical  workers  are 
far  behind  with  the  other. 


CHAPTER  II 

HISTORY   OF  THE   MOVEMENT 

It  was  at  a  dinner  of  the  teachers  and  officers 
of  the  church  school  in  the  latter  part  of  May, 
1919,  that  this  sentiment  found  expression:  "All 
is  not  well  with  our  school."  Reports  had  shown 
a  higher  percentage  of  attendance  than  formerly, 
larger  financial  gifts,  but  nowhere  was  mention 
made  of  better  teaching  or  greater  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  pupils.  The  first  speaker  and  those 
that  followed  remarked  on  the  absence  of  such  a 
statement,  and  the  superintendent  in  conclusion 
frankly  spoke  of  the  growing  dissatisfaction  among 
teachers  and  parents  with  the  lack  of  definite  edu- 
cational results  in  the  present  conduct  of  the 
school. 

Suggestions  were  invited  and  given,  the  out- 
come of  the  discussion  being  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  consisting  of  the  two  pastors,  the 
superintendent,  and  two  other  laymen.  This 
committee  was  asked  to  go  fully  into  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  situation  and  upon  the  basis  of 
their  study  give  to  the  first  fall  meeting  of  the 
teachers  and  officers  certain  reform  measures. 

A  survey  of  the  school  revealed  the  faults  com- 

12 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT  13 

mon  to  the  conventional  type  of  Sunday-school, 
i.  e.y  too  little  time  for  lesson-study;  overcrowding 
of  rooms,  and  the  consequent  confusion,  disorder, 
and  lack  of  discipline;  irregular  and  non-systematic 
instruction  due  to  irregular  attendance  on  the 
part  of  both  teacher  and  pupil.  These  faults  re- 
sulted inevitably  in  a  pupil  generally  uninformed 
at  the  end  of  the  year  in  the  basic  principles  and 
facts  which  his  course  was  supposed  to  teach. 
The  ordinary  pupil  who  had  no  help,  or  interest, 
at  home  could  not  have  passed  the  simplest  kind 
of  an  examination  covering  the  work  of  the  year. 
To  this  state  of  affairs  all  the  defects  of  the  pres- 
ent system  of  school  conduct  had  contributed; 
an  environment  existed  which  made  it  nearly  im- 
possible for  even  the  serious-minded  student  and 
teacher  to  do  satisfactory  work. 

Who  was  to  blame?  There  could  be  no  time 
wasted  considering  that  point.  Rather  the  ques- 
tion, how  shall  the  faults  be  remedied  and  a  new 
environment  created?  demanded  immediate  an- 
swer. An  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  of  over- 
crowding eventually  showed  the  way  to  solve  the 
whole  problem.  The  school  had  been  meeting 
from  12  to  1,  all  departments  and  classes  crowded 
into  the  parish  house  if  possible,  the  overflow  con- 
vening in  the  church  auditorium,  a  separate  build- 
ing. The  question  suggested  itself — why  not 
have  the  younger  children  meet  in  the  parish 
house  during  church  service  and  the  older  children 


/ 

14  HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT 

and  adults  have  the  extra  room  later  f  The  com- 
mittee agreed  that  the  idea  was  worth  considera- 
tion, and  on  the  basis  of  creating  a  junior  and  a 
senior  school  began  to  shape  plans  for  a  completely 
revised  programme  of  religious  education  in  the 
church. 

Naturally  with  the  making  of  new  plans  came 
the  conception  of  finer  ideals  for  the  school — 
more  earnest  study,  firmer  discipline,  and  better 
informed  pupils.  It  was  agreed  that  if  the  school 
could  not  train  the  children  for  intelligent  church- 
membership — ground  them  well  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  Bible,  church  history,  and  first  principles 
of  Christian  living — it  had  failed  in  the  funda- 
mental duty  of  religious  education.  With  the 
ideal  then  of  preparing  children  through  a  period 
of  eight  years  and  kindergarten  for  ultimate 
church-membership,  the  scheme  advanced  beyond 
the  stage  of  vision  into  that  of  actual  definite 
planning  of  how  it  might  be  made  a  reality. 

The  first  problem  to  be  attacked  was  the  prob- 
lem which  comes  to  every  serious-minded  edu- 
cator, that  of  teaching.  A  survey  of  the  volunteer 
teaching  fbrce  revealed  some  faithful  and  con- 
scientious, some  erratic  and  irresponsible,  and  a 
shortage  of  volunteers.  Clearly  the  church-mem- 
bers had  not  received  a  vision  of  what  religious 
education  could  mean  and  they  were  accordingly 
unprepared  to  accept  any  responsibility  for  a 
church  school.    The  committee  wasted  no  time  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT  15 

trying  to  find  more  teachers;  it  said:  "If  the 
church  wants  to  instruct  its  children,  let  her  hire 
professional  teachers  and  pay  them.  We  will 
grade  the  school  as  in  the  grammar  grades  and 
hire  teachers  who  are  experienced  in  each  grade; 
then  we  certainly  can  count  on  regular  and  able 
instruction." 

Thus  did  the  committee  combine  some  twenty 
or  more  junior  classes  into  eight  grades  and  elimi- 
nate the  problem  of  teacher  shortage.  This  is  a 
radical  departure  from  ordinary  Sunday-school 
methods,  so  radical,  in  fact,  that  there  was  some 
speculation  as  to  how  it  would  be  received  by  the 
parents  and  church-members  generally.  But  the 
committee  had  no  fear  of  its  ability  to  define  the 
issue  and  justify  the  course  suggested.  The  next 
problem  to  solve  was  quite  as  important  as  the 
first — the  material  to  be  used  in  order  that  the 
final  result  might  be  secured. 

A  careful  perusal  of  the  best  of  religious-educa- 
tion courses  failed  to  discover  a  series  of  lessons 
which  would  give  all  the  instruction  the  com- 
mittee desired.  Nothing  remained  to  be  done 
but  to  provide  supplementary  work  which  would 
complete  the  course;  this  additional  work  de- 
manded additional  time.  Would  the  parents  ac- 
cept and  support  a  longer  session  of  the  church 
school?  There  was  no  way  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion but  by  taking  it  to  the  parents. 

The  following  campaign,  designed  by  the  com- 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT 

mittee,  was  presented  to  the  teachers  and  officers 
at  the  first  meeting  in  the  fall  of  1919: 

1.  A    parents-teachers    forum    extending    monthly 

throughout  the  winter  in  which  this  revised 
programme  would  be  presented,  (a)  Con- 
solidation of  classes  in  one  kindergarten  grade 
and  eight  grammar  grades.  (6)  Hire  of  pro- 
fessional teachers,  (c)  Study  of  a  regular 
course  through  eight  years  with  supplemental 
work,  {d)  Two-hour  Sunday  session  for  the 
same  term  as  the  grammar-school  years. 

2.  A  vigorous  publicity  from  the  pulpit,  and  through 

the  church  publication,  First  Church  News — 
a  publicity  revealing  faults  in  the  present  sys- 
tem and  showing  their  correction  in  the  revised. 

3.  A  canvass  of  the  parents  in  May,  1920,  to  present 

in  booklet  form  the  revised  programme  and  to 
enlist  support.  This  to  consist  of  (a)  co- 
operation in  seeing  that  the  children  attend 
regularly  and  punctually;  (6)  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  school;  (c)  assistance  in  maintain- 
ing the  proper  discipHne. 

4.  A  decision  to  continue  work  on  the  project  so 

that  it  might  be  put  in  operation  in  the  fall, 
or  to  let  it  go  by — contingent  upon  the  result 
of  the  canvass. 

The  programme  of  the  campaign  was  heartily 
indorsed  and  the  first  forum  held  in  October,  1919, 
convinced  the  committee  that  there  was  a  demand 
on  the  part  of  parents  for  a  complete  revision 
of  the  church-school  idea.  As  the  months  went 
by,  the  complete  programme  was  worked  out,  and 


HISTORY  OF   THE  MOVEMENT  17 

when  May  came  it  was  ready  for  final  presenta- 
tion in  the  canvass. 

The  canvass  in  June  made  by  the  teachers 
among  the  parents  represented  in  their  respective 
classes  showed  an  overwhelming  sentiment  in 
favor  of  trying  the  new  scheme.  True,  consider- 
able scepticism  was  encountered,  but  it  did  not 
deter  parents  from  saying  that  they  would  go  a 
little  way  at  least  on  the  untried  road 

During  the  summer  the  programme  was  per- 
fected as  nearly  as  possibly  could  be  done,  and 
October  3,  1920,  the  junior  school  began  its  ses- 
sion at  10  o^clock  with  a  corps  of  professional 
teachers  under  the  director  of  religious  educa- 
tion as  principal.  From  the  first  Sunday  it  has 
justified  itself  and  to-day  the  junior  school  is  as 
firmly  a  part  of  the  church  a^  is  the  morning  service. 
It  is  the  morning  service  for  the  children. 

The  committee  working  on  reconstruction  feels 
now  that  one  of  the  most  valuable  results  of  its 
work  was  the  education  that  its  efforts  brought 
to  the  patrons  of  the  Sunday-school.  The  school 
had  lived  in  a  kind  of  isolation;  people  were  tak- 
ing it  for  granted,  its  weakness  as  well  as  its 
strength.  Forums,  committee  reports,  publicity, 
discussion  brought  out  suggestions  and  visions 
for  the  good  of  the  school.  These  same  adjuncts 
are  being  preserved  in  the  new  organization.  A 
parent-teacher  association  may  undoubtedly  grow 
out  of  this  experience. 


CHAPTER  III 

ADMINISTRATION 

After  the  officers  and  teachers  had  approved 
the  plan,  it  was  submitted  for  final  approval  to 
the  church  committee.  This  body  is  a  representa- 
tive group  of  church-members  including  the  dea- 
cons, the  church  staff,  and  presidents  of  various 
societies,  the  committee  acting  in  an  advisory 
capacity  to  the  pastor  and  helping  him  formulate 
the  polity  of  the  church.  Before  any  policy  of 
the  revised  school  becomes  a  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  church,  this  committee  must  con- 
sider it  and  formally  incorporate  it. 

The  matter  was  thoroughly  considered,  unani- 
mously approved,  and  the  complete  plan  incor- 
porated as  a  unit  in  the  church  programme.  The 
committee  also  made  these  recommendations: 

1.  That  the  church  school  should  be  under  the  im- 

mediate supervision  of  the  director  of  reli- 
gious education. 

2.  That  the  director,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 

committee,  have  the  power  to  employ  teach- 
ers, select  and  purchase  materials,  and  in 
every  way  do  what  he  considered  best  for  the 
school. 

18 


ADMINISTRATION  19 

3.  That  the  trustees  be  asked  to  furnish  additional 
funds  during  the  coming  year  out  of  the 
church  budget  for  the  efficient  conduct  of  the 
school. 

The  trustees  promised  that  the  1921  budget 
would  contain  an  increased  appropriation  for  re- 
ligious education  and  indorsed  heartily  the  action 
of  the  church  committee.  With  the  action  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  the  church  committee,  the 
preliminary  step  in  the  reorganization  of  the 
church  school  was  accomplished.  The  church 
now  was  pledged  to  the  support  of  the  school  and 
made  that  pledge  a  matter  of  a  budget  item.  In 
contrast  to  the  old-time  way  of  trying  to  raise 
sufficient  funds  by  leaving  it  to  the  ingenuity  of 
the  superintendent,  who  in  turn  struggled  with 
problems  involving  the  pennies  of  children,  this 
method  of  financial  administration  represented 
a  radical  departure  from  the  methods  of  other 
days.  The  certainty  of  a  settled  income  from  the 
church  made  the  planning  of  the  year's  work  an 
easier  business  than  formerly.  Furthermore,  the 
working  force  of  the  school  did  not  feel  that  it 
was  a  detached  unit  of  the  church,  but  rather  a 
definite  part  of  the  whole  church  programme. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
church  committee,  the  director  of  religious  edu- 
cation, working  with  the  superintendent,  selected 
administrative  supervisors  for  the  various  depart- 
ments— adult   and   senior,    intermediate,   junior, 


20  ADMINISTRATION 

primary,  and  kindergarten.  These  supervisors, 
with  the  superintendent,  secretaries,  and  trea- 
surer, constituted  the  executive  board  of  the 
school.  This  board  has  for  its  work  the  routine 
business  of  the  school's  administration,  problems 
of  unusual  importance  being  discussed  by  the 
teachers  of  all  departments  at  a  general  teachers' 
meeting. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ORGANIZATION 

1.  Grades. — An  arbitrary  system  of  grading 
presents  diflSculties.  The  time  when  the  work  of 
the  various  grammar-school  grades  will  be  stand- 
ardized is  coming,  but  it  has  not  arrived  yet;  un- 
til then  educators  must  keep  in  the  advance  ranks 
of  modern  methods  looking  for  the  opening  that 
will  enable  them  to  make  more  substantial  gains. 

Sunday-schools  do  not  approach,  in  grading,  the 
efficiency  of  public  schools;  at  present  the  grading 
of  grammar-schools  may  well  serve  as  a  model 
for  church  schools.  The  system  upon  which  most 
Sunday-schools  run  is  one  of  convenience  and 
not  intelligence.  Classes  include  chums  whose 
intellectual  abilities  are  often  as  far  apart  as  the 
poles;  boys  bring  boys  into  their  circles  who  may 
be  older  or  younger,  more  intelligent  or  less;  girls 
do  likewise,  and  no  regard  is  had  for  the  diffi- 
culties which  present  themselves  to  the  teacher 
who  must  face  this  assemblage  of  varying  abil- 
ities and  attempt  to  reach  all  in  a  helpful  way  in  a 
limited  amount  of  time.  Clearly  the  public-school 
method  of  grading  comes  more  nearly  doing  jus- 
tice to  the  pupils  than  any  method  popularly  em- 
ployed. 

First   Church  school   was  graded  accordingly, 

21 


22  ORGANIZATION 

boys  and  girls  being  grouped  into  one  grade,  that 
one  being  the  same  as  that  to  which  they  were 
accustomed  day  after  day  in  grammar-school. 
In  the  high-school  division  the  grading  was  done 
in  a  similar  fashion,  except  that  boys  and  girls 
had  separate  classes.  The  question  naturally 
arose  many  times:  "Why  cannot  my  child  be 
with  his  former  classmates  ?  "  But  the  whole  plan 
only  needed  to  be  presented  again  to  the  parents 
to  help  them  see  the  reason  and  to  secure  the 
necessary  co-operation. 

Now  the  problem  of  lesson-teaching  was  sim- 
plified; the  teacher  had  before  her  children  of  an 
average  type  of  intelligence  and  she  could  teach 
as  befitted  that  type  without  the  fear  of  failing 
to  reach  the  slower  minds  or  to  interest  the  keener 
members  of  the  class. 

2.  Lesson  Material. — In  the  selection  of  lesson 
material  the  nature  of  the  whole  course  had  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  again.  As  originally 
planned  the  work  in  the  kindergarten  and  first 
eight  grades  was  intended  to  prepare  the  child 
for  intelligent  church-membership;  the  lesson 
studied,  then,  must  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
cover  the  study  of  the  Bible,  elementary  facts  in 
church  history,  and  the  meaning  of  the  church- 
membership.  It  was  found  that  no  course  printed 
included  all  these,  so  the  next  best  thing  was  to 
take  that  course  offering  the  nearest  to  what  was 
wanted. 


ORGANIZATION  23 

The  material  used  for  each  grade  aimed  at  the 
accomplishment  of  a  certain  amount  of  work  for 
the  year.    The  course  planned  follows: 

Kindergarten:  Lessons  from  nature,  from  songs 
and  stories. 

First  Grade:         God  the  Loving  Father. 

Second  Grade:       God's  Loyal  Children. 

Third  Grade:        Jesus'  Way  of  Love  and  Service. 

Fourth  Grade:  Lessons  from  the  Bible — Genesis  to 
Kings. 

Fifth  Grade:  Lessons  from  the  Bible — Kings  to 
end  of  Old  Testament. 

Sixth  Grade:  Lessons  from  the  Bible — Matthew 
to  John. 

Seventh  Grade:  Lessons  from  the  Bible — Acts  to 
Revelation. 

Eighth  Grade:  Lives  of  Christian  heroes,  provid- 
ing an  outline  of  church  history. 

With  such  an  outline  of  study  the  principal  and 
the  teachers  can  tell  just  what  work  should  be 
covered  in  each  grade;  accordingly  they  can  build 
the  knowledge  of  succeeding  years  more  intelli- 
gently. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  course  outlined 
does  not  include  all  the  material  desired  by  the 
board  of  directors.  There  remained  for  the  board, 
then,  the  work  of  supplementing  the  course  by 
adding  such  other  material  as  would  complete  the 
original  plan. 

3.     Supplemental    Work. — Before    making    up 


24  ORGANIZATION 

this  supplemental  work  the  aim  of  the  eight  or 
ten  years  of  instruction  was  again  called  to  the 
minds  of  the  teachers,  and  out  of  the  suggestions 
made  the  additional  material  was  planned.  The 
work  for  the  first,  second,  and  third  grades  found 
expression  in  the  supervisor  of  those  grades,  a 
woman  of  long  experience,  one  who  knew  and  un- 
derstood primary  children  thoroughly.  Too  long 
an  exposition  of  the  work  planned  is  out  of  place 
here.  SuflSce  it  to  say  that  all  those  grades  have 
drill  regularly  in  memorizing  pertinent  Bible 
verses,  the  second  and  third  grades  giving  not 
only  the  verse  but  its  location.  The  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Beatitudes,  simplified,  Ten  Com- 
mandments, certain  Psalms — all  these  are  in- 
cluded in  the  curricula  of  the  first  three  grades. 

The  fourth  grade  gives  special  attention  to  the 
natural  development  of  its  course — the  recount- 
ing of  the  stories  of  the  first  half  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, lessons  to  be  drawn  from  them,  and  the 
finding  of  such  stories  in  the  Bible.  The  fifth  and 
sixth  grades  treat  their  work  similarly.  All  three 
of  these  grades  meet  regularly  every  Sunday  in  a 
half-hour  assembly  where  assigned  pupils  give  the 
stories  of  their  particular  lessons,  drill  in  Bible 
fundamentals  is  had,  and  the  attempt  is  made  to 
bring  the  world  into  the  minds  of  the  children  by 
the  recital  of  missionary  history.  This  latter  ma- 
terial is  presented  by  the  principal  in  story  form 
with  emphasis  upon  the  part  played  by  the  local 


ORGANIZATION  25 

church  in  the  support  of  missionaries  and  their 
enterprises. 

The  seventh  and  eighth  grades  have  their  work 
supplemented  by  the  dramatic  expression  of  cer- 
tain lessons  to  be  found  in  their  regular  course. 
During  the  last  half  of  the  year  the  eighth  grade 
has  a  short  talk  from  the  principal  every  Sunday 
on  the  fundamentals  of  church  doctrine,  organiza- 
tion, and  what  church-membership  means. 

Here  at  a  glance  is  the  outline  of  the  supple- 
mentary work.  How  it  can  be  presented,  how  it 
may  be  added  to,  are  matters  capable  of  adjust- 
ment to  local  situations.  As  time  passes  new 
phases  of  study  will  probably  be  developed;  cer- 
tainly the  working  of  the  plan  is  so  flexible  as  to 
provide  ample  opportunity  for  the  insertion  of 
such  new  study. 

4.     Teachers  and  Helpers. — Around  the  prob- 
lem of  teaching  revolves  the  success  or  failure  of 
any  school.    The  church  school  used  to  be  placed 
on  the  excepted  list,  but  it  cannot  longer  be  listed 
there  if  the  church  faces  honestly  the  matter  of 
bringing  her  schools  up  to  a  standard  of  efficient 
instruction.     Time  was  (and  time  now  is)  when 
teachers  of  Sunday-school  classes  were  used  be- 
cause they  volunteered  to  help  and  not  because 
they  had  any  ability  as  teachers.    The  church  ap- 
preciated their  help;  it  does  now.    But  the  time 
is  coming  when  church-members  will  awaken  to 
the  fact  that  instruction  of  children  cannot  be 


26  ORGANIZATION 

left  even  partially  to  those  who  are  used  because 
they  offer  their  assistance.  Men  and  women  will 
continue  to  volunteer,  but  they  must  be  of  that 
character  that  inspires  trust  and  following,  in 
other  words,  they  must  be  people  who  have  the 
ability  to  teach.  Whether  they  are  paid  for  their 
services  or  not  is  not  so  important  as  the  fact 
that  such  teachers  must  be  had. 

First  Church  school,  because  of  its  financial 
basis,  sought  out  and  found  professional  teachers 
and  offered  them  remuneration  at  a  rate  little 
lower  than  the  prevailing  grammar-school  teach- 
er's salary.  These  teachers  possessed  that  type 
of  pioneering  spirit  that  embraces  any  opportu- 
nity for  venture  into  new  fields.  Such  a  spirit  be- 
spoke genuine  interest  and  consecrated  endeavor, 
a  devotion  to  the  ideals  which  a  church  would 
implant  in  its  young.  Without  exception  the 
teachers  selected  have  proven  faithful  to  every 
obligation  and  have,  by  their  own  testimony,  felt 
themselves  repaid  many  times  for  Sunday's  ac- 
tivity (in  addition  to  a  week  of  teaching)  by  the 
accomplishment  of  things  hoped  for  in  former 
Sunday-school  experience. 

Substitute  teachers  are  provided  in  every  grade, 
and  the  first  few  Sundays  the  regular  teacher  and 
her  assistant  work  together  so  that  their  methods 
of  work  may  harmonize  and  the  scholars  know 
both  teachers.  If  for  any  reason  the  regular  in- 
structor is  not  present,  the  assistant  takes  her 


ORGANIZATION  27 

place  and  the  effect  is  quite  different  from  that 
produced  by  thrusting  a  total  stranger  in  upon  the 
class. 

5.  Groupings. — In  the  routine  Sunday  work  of 
the  school  various  groupings  have  been  found 
satisfactory,  especially  in  the  matters  of  assembly 
and  of  recreation.  For  instance,  the  first,  sec- 
ond, and  third  grades  meet  for  the  opening  and 
closing  sessions  together;  but  on  account  of  the 
size  of  the  classes  the  first  and  second  grades  can- 
not combine  with  the  third  for  the  recreation 
period.  The  fourth  to  the  eighth  grades  inclu- 
sive have  their  opening  and  closing  sessions  to- 
gether. While  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  grades 
are  having  their  supplemental  work  in  one  assem- 
bly, the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  dramatizing 
Biblical  and  religious  incidents. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   SCHOOL  AT   WORK 

The  regular  Sunday  programme  of  the  junior 
school  of  First  Church  could  not  better  be  de- 
scribed than  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  a  nor- 
mal Sunday's  work.  It  is  conducted  in  three 
groups — ^kindergarten,  primary,  and  junior — all 
at  the  same  time  but  in  different  parts  of  the  build- 
ing. The  conduct  of  the  kindergarten  is  an  adap- 
tation of  kindergarten  methods  to  religious  uses; 
with  the  help  of  the  proper  material  and  equip- 
ment a  good  teacher  can  arrange  the  work  so  as  to 
secure  the  best  results.  (The  material  used  in  this 
and  other  departments  will  be  itemized  in  the  next 
chapter.) 

Primary  Department 

At  10  o'clock  this  department  opens  under  the 
direction  of  the  supervisor,  assisted  by  a  pianist 
and  a  chorister.  Until  10.30  the  opening  exer- 
cises continue,  consisting  of  Bible  verses,  etc.  At 
10.30  the  three  grades  included  in  this  department 
separate  for  a  half-hour's  study  of  their  several 
lessons;  the  classes  being  grouped  in  separate 
rooms.  Each  teacher  has  a  blackboard,  and  the 
lesson  is  illustrated  there  in  colored  chalk — the 

28 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  WORK  29 

school  artist  puts  the  work  on  early  Sunday  morn- 
ing. 

The  time  for  recreation  comes  at  11  o^clock  and 
all  three  grades  gather  on  the  floor  of  the  dining- 
room  for  twenty  minutes  of  games  and  motion 
songs.  Following  the  recreation,  the  classes  re- 
sume to  do  supplemental  work  for  thirty-five 
minutes.  Dismissal  of  the  primary  department 
comes  without  a  closing  session,  the  teachers  feel- 
ing that  they  would  rather  have  that  time  for  in- 
struction than  for  a  formal  concluding  exercise. 

Junior  Department 

This  department  opens  its  session  at  10  o'clock 
and  for  fifteen  minutes  devotes  its  time  to  the 
singing  of  church  hymns.  Under  the  direction  of 
a  skilled  precentor  a  new  hymn  is  learned  each 
Sunday  and  it  is  reviewed  often  enough  to  keep 
it  in  the  memory.  The  next  ten  minutes,  some- 
times fifteen,  are  used  for  responsive  reading, 
prayer,  and  the  principal's  story  sermon;  then  the 
classes  convene,  each  in  separate  places  for  their 
regular  work. 

The  eighth  grade  remains  with  the  instructor 
in  dramatics  in  the  assembly-hall,  where  the  open- 
ing is  held.  This  hall  is  equipped  with  a  stage 
and  the  necessary  accessories,  and  here  the  pupils 
study  chosen  incidents  from  their  class  work  in  a 
dramatic  way,  the  period  of  practical  study  and 
demonstration  being  forty  minutes.     At  the  end 


30  THE  SCHOOL  AT  WORK 

of  that  time,  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  change 
places — the  eighth  grade  going  for  class  work  and 
the  seventh  coming  for  its  dramatic  interpreta- 
tion for  forty  minutes.  The  teacher  of  the 
seventh-grade  class  work  does  the  eighth-grade 
work  also  and  the  same  dramatic  instructor  suf- 
fices for  both  classes. 

Meantime  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  grades 
have  their  class  work  for  forty-five  minutes  and 
at  11.15  come  together  in  assembly  for  supple- 
mental work.  During  the  next  thirty-five  min- 
utes these  children  are  trained  in  an  expressional 
way  by  the  principal  (the  director  of  religious 
education);  the  training  consists  of  standing  be- 
fore the  assembly  and  telling  the  story  of  the  les- 
son of  the  preceding  Sunday,  ^.  e.,  one  from  the 
fourth  grade  tells  very  briefly  the  story  of  the 
lesson  he  had  in  his  class  work  last  Sunday.  Rep- 
resentatives from  all  three  grades  speak,  and  not 
only  is  public-speaking  practice  secured  but  a 
perpetual  review  conducted,  beneficial,  not  only 
to  the  sixth  grade,  but  helpful  to  the  fourth  and 
fifth  grades,  because  it  gives  an  idea  of  coming 
work.  Oftentimes  the  teacher  divides  the  lesson 
story  among  three  or  four  pupils  and  all  take  part 
in  its  recital.  This  practice  takes  up  the  first 
half  of  the  assembly  period;  the  last  half  is  used 
for  the  other  supplemental  work — memorizing 
passages  from  the  Bible,  Biblical  facts,  and  a 
concluding    missionary    story    usually    centring 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  WORK  31 

around  the  fields  of  one  of  the  missionaries  from 
the  local  church  (First  Church  supports  eight  in 
different  parts  of  the  world). 

The  junior  department  reconvenes  at  11.50  for 
a  closing  song,  which  is  usually  the  new  one 
learned  at  the  opening  session.  The  principal 
gives  the  benediction  and  the  pupils  sing  the 
"  Amen."  The  teachers  and  officers  feel  that  a 
closing  exercise  is  more  necessary  for  the  junior 
division  than  for  the  primary;  acquaintance  with 
church  worship  is  taught  as  a  natural  outgrowth 
of  the  whole  system  of  instruction. 

Records  and  Grades 

The  teacher  of  each  grade  is  provided  with  a 
card  for  each  pupil.     (See  page  32.) 

All  six  of  these  marks  are  not  made  every  Sun- 
day, but  the  first  two,  attendance  and  punctual- 
ity, are  always  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  class- 
study  period;  a  pupil  is  marked  late  if  he  comes  in 
after  the  first  song  has  been  sung.  The  remain- 
ing four  spaces  are  graded  by  the  teacher  or  her 
assistant  (there  being  assistants  in  the  first  to 
fifth  grades)  during  the  class  period  or  afterward; 
such  marks  are  matters  of  deliberation  and  im- 
pression rather  than  of  snap  judgment.  Every 
class  gives  a  collection,  which  is  taken  during  the 
roll-call  and  is  sent  to  the  school  secretary,  to- 
gether with  a  statement  of  the  number  of  pupils 
present. 


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32 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  WORK  33 

Once  every  two  months  a  grade  report  is  sent 
to  the  home,  addressed  to  the  father  or  mother. 
(See  page  34.)  Accompanying  this  is  a  letter  from 
the  principal  telling  of  the  progress  of  the  school 
or  bringing  some  matter  to  the  attention  of  the 
parents.  While  the  experiment  of  grading  church- 
school  work  is  quite  new,  First  Church  School 
teachers  believe  that  already  it  has  justified  itself 
because  of  the  awakening  of  many  adults  to  the 
seriousness  of  teaching  religious  truth.  Fathers 
and  mothers  are  coming  to  the  teachers  and  ask- 
ing about  the  progress  of  their  children  and  they 
are  showing  interest  enough  to  ask  questions  in 
the  home.  Such  response  is  not  as  general  yet 
as  is  hoped  for,  but  the  signs  are  encouraging. 

Graduations 

Until  the  school  is  firmly  established  in  the 
minds  of  the  church  people  and  parents  the  busi- 
ness of  passing  pupils  from  one  grade  to  another 
will  not  be  a  matter  regulated  as  in  the  public 
schools.  While  a  church  school  may  have  a 
standard  for  each  grade,  the  system  is  not  strongly 
enough  intrenched  to  say  that  a  child  cannot  go 
on  until  that  standard  is  satisfactorily  approxi- 
mated. Another  way  must  be  devised  which  will 
recognize  good  work  and  place  a  premium  upon 
it  to  the  exclusion  of  work  done  in  a  negligent 
fashion  and  with  no  spirit  of  pride  in  accomplish- 
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34 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  WORK  35 

The  board  of  First  Church  School  has  decided 
to  experiment  the  present  year  on  this  basis: 
Children's  Day,  the  second  Sunday  in  June,  will 
be  observed  as  Graduation  Day.  On  that  day 
those  in  the  eighth  grade  who  have  the  consent  of 
their  parents  will  be  graduated  into  church-mem- 
bership and  into  the  senior  school.  A  special 
programme  will  have  on  it  the  names  of  all  those 
who  graduate  and  all  those  who  pass  from  one 
grade  into  the  next.  Those  who  graduate  or  pass 
honorably  will  receive  certificates,  engraved  cards, 
while  the  others  who  have  not  done  satisfactory 
work,  who  have  been  late  too  often,  and  absent 
too  much,  will  merely  be  noted  as  passing  from 
one  grade  to  the  next.  This  step  will  have  had 
adequate  preparation  because  the  parents  know 
what  is  contemplated  and  so  do  the  children.  The 
eighth-grade  students  who  graduate  into  church- 
membership  will  receive  Bibles  inscribed  by  the 
ministers  of  the  church. 

Once  again  let  it  be  emphasized  that  the  sys- 
tem of  grading  and  graduation  is  largely  an  ex- 
periment, but  then  the  whole  scheme  is  one  large 
experiment  and  only  time  will  tell  the  result.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  these  aspects  of  public- 
school  administration  are  also  still  in  the  experi- 
mental stage. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EQUIPMENT 

Judged  from  the  standpoint  of  elaborateness, 
the  equipment  of  First  Church  School  could  not 
demand  a  separate  chapter.  It  is  because  the 
equipment  is  simple  and  to  be  secured  with  little 
expense  that  special  mention  is  made  of  it.  Adap- 
tability is  the  key-note  of  the  whole  plan  and  the 
equipment  of  any  Sunday-school  as  now  con- 
stituted could  be  used  to  advantage  in  the  revised 
system  of  operation. 

Kindergarten 

Little  chairs  and  long,  low  tables  are  indispen- 
sable adjuncts  of  any  kindergarten  work;  heavy 
drawing-paper,  crayons,  and  blunt  scissors  are  the 
materials  which  the  children  use  at  the  tables. 
Sand-boxes  in  the  form  of  long  tables  with  an  as- 
sortment of  plain  blocks  are  valuable  aids  to  the 
teachers.  A  blackboard  and  a  piano  make  up  the 
rest  of  an  equipment  which,  while  it  could  not 
properly  speaking  be  called  extensive,  is  really 
the  most  elaborate  in  the  whole  school. 

First  to  Third  Grades 

Tables  and  chairs  to  conform  to  the  size  of  the 
children  are  necessary;  good  work  cannot  be  done 

36 


EQUIPMENT  37 

if  the  scholar  is  not  comfortable.  With  the  les- 
son material  is  a  note-book  for  each  pupil;  this 
book,  a  pencil,  and  a  box  of  crayons  are  kept  in 
a  large  envelope  of  heavy  linen  and  the  envelope 
left  with  the  teacher  at  the  close  of  Sunday's 
work.  The  large  envelope  has  the  merit  of  keep- 
ing the  scholar's  work  separate  and  clean.  Each 
of  the  three  grades  should  have  a  blackboard; 
upon  it  the  teacher  can  illustrate  (or  find  some 
one  to  do  it)  the  work  of  each  Sunday.  A  drawing 
in  colored  chalk  is  appealing  to  the  younger 
scholars.  For  the  assembly  of  the  first  three 
grades  a  child's  song-book  is  useful,  although  the 
children  can  be  taught  by  note  by  a  skilled  leader. 
(For  the  name  of  a  good  children's  hymnal  see 
Appendix.) 

Fourth  to  Eighth  Grades 

The  same  hymnal  is  used  for  these  five  grades 
because  of  their  assembly  together;  the  one  in 
use  in  First  Church  School  is  especially  good  for 
teaching  the  best  hymns  of  the  church.  (See 
Appendix.)  In  contrast  to  the  old-time  Sunday- 
school  song-book,  this  new  hymnal  presents  a 
noteworthy  departure. 

The  lessons  studied  require  a  note-book  for 
each  pupil  in  the  five  grades,  consequently  tables 
and  chairs  are  necessary  for  the  class  work.  The 
long  dining-tables  covered  with  a  heavy  oilcloth 
may  prove  very  useful  for  such  work.    As  in  the 


38  EQUIPMENT 

other  grades  each  scholar  has  a  large  heavy  en- 
velope for  his  note-book  and  pencil.  Blackboards 
and  maps  are  helpful  in  the  fourth  to  the  eighth 
and  almost  essential  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades. 

For  the  dramatic  instruction  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  a  note-book  is  used  by  each  pupil. 
No  text-book  covering  the  field  adaptable  for  stu- 
dents* use  has  yet  been  published,  although  one 
very  valuable  for  teachers  can  be  secured.  (See 
Appendix.)  A  book  which  includes  within  its 
covers  simple  dramatizations  of  a  number  of 
Biblical  incidents  and  episodes  in  church  history 
would  be  of  inestimable  assistance  in  such  work. 

On  account  of  the  size  of  classes  separate  rooms 
are  highly  desirable;  the  improved  discipline  and 
consequent  better  interest  are  well  worth  a  vigor- 
ous attempt  to  secure  a  room  for  each  grade. 

A  stage  elaborately  equipped  is  not  essential 
to  success  in  dramatizing  Bible  stories  and  re- 
ligious incidents;  an  ordinary  platform  will  serve 
as  a  starting-point  for  such  instruction.  Once  the 
elementary  principles  of  ordinary  acting  are  in- 
stilled into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  pupils, 
special  bits  of  scenery  and  ideas  for  costumes  will 
come  spontaneously. 

When  the  day  of  larger  interest  in  religious  edu- 
cation arrives,  when  churches  are  willing  to  give 
larger  sums  to  the  work  of  their  schools  of  instruc- 
tion, when  church-members  feel  vitally  that  the 
children  of  to-day  will  be  the  church  of  to-morrow. 


EQUIPMENT  39 

then  church  schools  may  be  supplied  with  com- 
fortable desks  or  chairs  with  desk-arms,  attrac- 
tive classrooms,  abundant  blackboard  space,  etc. 
Until  that  time  the  school  must  make  use  of  the 
simple  equipment  at  its  command. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   MEASURING   OF   RESULTS 

The  measuring  of  definite,  tangible  results  in 
any  kind  of  religious  work  has  been  and  will  al- 
ways be  a  difficult  undertaking.  The  difficulty 
exists  not  because  there  are  no  results  to  measure, 
but  rather  because  those  results  find  expression 
in  so  many  and  seemingly  unrelated  modifications. 
The  sociologist  who  thinks  to  find  by  a  second 
survey  the  good  accomplished  by  a  new  system 
of  housing  discovers  that  his  first  survey  has  been 
bettered  and  he  also  discovers  that  better  housing 
has  influenced  for  the  better  phases  of  living  which 
he  had  little  or  no  idea  of  touching.  Like  leaven 
in  bread  his  little  original  leaven  has  leavened  the 
whole  lump.  The  religious-education  director 
will  come  to  similar  conclusions,  time  and  again, 
and  he  will  never  be  able  to  adequately  measure 
results.  He  must  content  himself  with  observing 
carefully  some  of  the  outstanding  rewards  of  a 
new  system  and  deducting  from  them  some  of  the 
real  benefits  of  pioneering  effort. 

First  Church,  after  a  six  months'  trial  of  a  new 
system  of  religious  education  for  its  children,  is 
trying  to  measure  results,  but  the  church  realizes 
that  it  cannot  adequately  do  this  now  or  even 

40 


THE  MEASURING  OF  RESULTS  41 

years  hence.     Certain  encouraging  features  have 
emphasized  themselves,  however,  and  the  most 
important  of  these  is  the  inauguration  of  the  eight- 
year  preparation  for  church-membership.     This 
particular  feature  is  appealing  to  parents  with  in- 
creasing force;  it  is  making  them  realize  that 
there  really  is  a  definite  purpose  back  of  the 
longer  programme.     Decision  days  and  eight  or 
twelve  week  preparatory  classes  are  and  will  be 
for  years  to  come  part  of  the  method  of  evangelical 
churches  for  bringing  children  into  the  church; 
no  criticism  of  such  a  method  need  be  voiced  to 
emphasize  the  more  purposeful  idea  of  a  longer 
period   of  preparation.     This  idea  is  the  foun- 
dation upon  which  the  future  of  the  school  will 
be  built.    To  hold  before  a  child  through  eight 
or  ten  years  of  church-school  work  the  ideal  of 
graduating  into  the  membership  of  the  church  it- 
self is  to  educate  him  to  a  sense  of  the  high  privi- 
lege and  duties  of  such  membership.     The  ele- 
mentary principles  of  Christian  living  can  much 
better  be  instilled  through  a  long  period  of  in- 
struction than  in  a  shorter  term  of  concentrated 
education.     Upon  the  age-old  idea,  then,  of  slow 
painstaking  preparation  First  Church  School  is 
building  and  developing  its  long-term  programme 
of  church-membership  training. 

There  follows  another  result  which  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  apparent — the  children  are 
increasingly  interested  in  their  work.    It  was  ex- 


42  THE  MEASURING  OF  RESULTS 

pected  that  a  two-hour  Sunday  programme  would 
not  appeal  to  all;  but  those  expectations  were 
largely  disappointed  and  the  report  is  continually 
being  brought  in  by  parents:  "I  did  not  dream 
my  child  could  become  so  interested  in  a  Sunday- 
school.  He  comes  home  and  tells  us  what  he  has 
learned,  asks  us  questions,  and  in  self-defense 
we  are  studying  the  Bible  as  we  have  never  done 
before."  A  high  percentage  of  attendance  be- 
speaks an  interested  pupil  and  the  new  system  has 
secured  a  per  cent  far  beyond  anything  ever 
known  in  First  Church.  That  the  parents  are 
co-operating  is  only  another  way  of  stating  they 
are  interested  and  trying  in  every  way  to  supple- 
ment the  work  of  the  teachers. 

An  increase  in  practical  religious  and  Biblical 
knowledge  was  expected  and  it  has  come;  this  is 
not  the  least  of  the  results  to  be  measured.  Noth- 
ing is  more  discouraging  to  the  superintendent 
of  a  church  school  than  to  visit  classes  and  find 
there  the  most  distressing  ignorance  of  the  les- 
sons studied;  his  work  of  securing  teachers  and 
officers  and  his  management  of  them  all  so  that  he 
may  perfect  a  smooth-working  organization  seems 
to  go  for  naught.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  vastly 
enheartening  for  a  principal  to  know  what  to 
expect  of  a  certain  grade,  visit  that  class  and  hear 
the  pupils  give  the  information  he  wants  to  hear. 
First  Church  School  has  passed  through  the  first 
stage  and  is  coming  into  the  second;  not  every 


THE  MEASURING  OF  RESULTS  43 

scholar  is  a  prodigy  of  learning,  but  the  improve- 
ment in  each  group  is  sufficient  to  furnish  ground 
for  great  expectations. 

Better  discipline  is  another  result  of  the  revised 
system  that  is  undoubtedly  making  for  more 
efficient  work.  Where  formerly  fourteen  teachers 
tried  to  maintain  order  in  fourteen  classes  in  one 
large  room,  now  one  grade  containing  thirty 
scholars  under  a  teacher  and  her  assistant  have 
the  room;  at  present  there  is  hardly  a  question  of 
discipline,  where  formerly  the  struggle  for  atten- 
tion and  interest  was  prolonged  and  usually  un- 
successful. This  same  condition  is  found  through- 
out the  school;  it  is  an  eloquent  commentary  on 
the  behavior  of  the  pupils  as  well  as  upon  the 
ability  of  the  teachers  to  state  that  more  pupils 
are  being  taught  under  the  newer  form  of  work 
this  year  by  half  the  number  of  teachers  used  last 
year. 

Too  great  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  upon  the 
faithfulness  and  ability  of  the  teaching  force.  By 
means  of  the  associate  system,  that  is,  every 
teacher  having  her  associate,  there  has  not  been  a 
Sunday  when  any  class  has  been  without  the  in- 
struction of  one  or  both  of  the  regular  teachers. 
That  fact  in  itself  has  much  to  do  with  the  in- 
terest of  the  scholars,  the  work  accomplished,  and 
the  general  efficiency  of  the  school. 

One  other  result  among  those  already  enu- 
merated demands  mention.     Because  the  junior 


/ 

44  THE  MEASURING  OF  RESULTS 

school  IS  held  at  the  same  time  church  service  is 
held,  the  morning  congregation  has  grown  con- 
siderably; it  is  easy  to  see  why.  Parents  of 
younger  children  bring  them  to  the  school  and 
then  go  to  church.  Formerly  it  was  a  case  of  take 
the  children  to  church  or  stay  home  altogether; 
many  preferred  the  latter  course.  This  state- 
ment gives  occasion  for  the  utterance  of  a  com- 
plaint that  parents  do  not  take  their  children  to 
church  as  they  used  to.  That  fact  is  granted,  but 
there  had  better  be  a  movement  looking  toward 
ultimate  church-membership  for  the  children  with 
intelligent  preparation  than  a  senseless  bewailing 
of  the  departure  of  the  old  type  of  church-atten- 
dance by  children. 

These,  in  brief,  are  a  few  of  the  results  being 
secured  in  and  by  First  Church  School  now.  In- 
terest on  the  part  of  the  pupil  is  essential  but  no 
more  essential  than  parental  interest;  regular  at- 
tendance by  the  children  is  necessary,  but  the 
teachers  must  attend  just  as  faithfully;  instruc- 
tion must  be  well  given  in  the  school,  but  home 
teaching  as  a  supplement  makes  the  original  in- 
struction much  more  effective.  These  are  ideals 
continually  preached  by  educators  of  all  kinds. 
Church  schools  have  viewed  them  heretofore  as 
far  off  and  visionary,  but  the  experience  First 
Church  School  is  enjoying  ought  to  convince 
Christians  everywhere  that  such  ideals  need  not 
only  be  longed  for  but  sought  for  and  attained 


THE  MEASURING  OF  RESULTS  45 

in  part.  When  the  church  realizes  that  the  future 
church  is  now  in  the  church  school  no  effort 
should  be  too  great  to  make  in  behalf  of  a  thought- 
ful preparation  of  the  children  of  to-day  for 
Christian  citizenship. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

The  materials  used  by  First  Church  School,  Toledo, 
Ohio,  are  as  follows: 

KINDERGARTEN: 

"A  Course  for  Beginners  in  Religious  Edu- 
cation."    (Scribners.) 

"Letters  to  Parents  for  Beginners'  Course." 
(Scribners.) 

FIRST  GRADE: 

"God  the  Loving  Father."  Supplies  for  teachers 
and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

SECOND  GRADE: 
"God's  Loyal  Children."    Supplies  for  teachers 
and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

THIRD  GRADE: 
"Jesus'  Way  of  Love  and  Service."    Supplies  for 
teachers  and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

FOURTH  GRADE: 

"Early  Heroes  and  Heroines."  Supplies  for 
teachers  and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

FIFTH  GRADE: 
"Kings    and    Prophets."    Supplies    for    teachers 
and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

SIXTH  GRADE: 
"  Life  and  Works  of  Jesus."    Supplies  for  teachers 
and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 
49 


50  APPENDIX 

SEVENTH  GRADE: 
"Christian  Apostles  and  Missionaries."     Sup- 
plies for  teachers  and  pupils.     (Scribners.) 

EIGHTH  GRADE: 

"Heroes  of  the  Faith."  (Arranged  chronologi- 
cally.) Supplies  for  teachers  and  pupils.  (Scrib- 
ners.) 

Music  Instruction : 

First  to  Third  Grades — 

"Child  Religion  in  Song  and  Story."    (Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press.) 
Fourth  to  Eighth  Grades — 

"Hymnal  for  American  Youth."     (Century.) 

Dramatic  Instruction : 
Teachers'  Text-book.     "Dramatization  of  Bible 
Stories."    (Erwin.) 


Date  Due 


'^''^MMS 


